MONDAY'S 125TH EDITION, NOT YOUR TYPICAL BOSTON MARATHON

WICKED LOCAL

In June of 1894, the French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin established the International Olympic Committee, which organized the first Olympic Games in modern history that was held in Athens in April of 1896. 

It featured 241 athletes from 14 nations, with the United States winning the most gold medals (11), while Greece won the most overall medals (47).

Spyridon Louis, perhaps the most memorable Greek athlete, was the winner of the marathon. The course was around 25-miles long, and was based upon the ancient tale of the Greek messenger Pheidippides, who ran from the plains of the City of Marathon to Athens to announce victory at the Battle of Marathon. At the completion of his run, he died. 

The spectacle of the Games, and specifically the performance of Spyridon Louis inspired U.S. Olympic team manager and BAA member John Graham to bring the marathon event to Boston.

On April 19, 1897, 14 brave runners lined up in front of Metcalf’s Mill in Ashland to run 24.5-miles to Boston, where John J. McDermott etched his name in the running history books as the first Boston Marathon winner.

The official marathon distance was cemented by the Royal Family of England at the 1908 Olympic Games, when they insisted that the marathon start at Windsor Castle. It was 26 miles to the Olympic Stadium, and 385 more yards to circle the track at the finish, thus at that time today’s standard 26.2-mile distance was born. That meant the Boston Marathon would have to adapt, which it did to its new start line in Hopkinton.

From that point forward, changes were few and far between as this is an event steeped in tradition, but recent history has demanded significant changes.

The phenomenal growth of running swelled the field from 14 to over 30,000. Honoring the winning runners went from a medal and a cup of beef stew to substantial prize money. A terrorist attack changed the intimate interaction of participants with spectators to a well-controlled and monitored racecourse. But it’s been this pandemic that has challenged the BAA organizing committee the most.

In 2020, the unthinkable occurred when it became clear that there wouldn’t be any way the 124th running of the marathon was going to take place. Lockdowns were in place internationally. There was no vaccine, and the outlook for relief seemed distant.

The decision was made to create a virtual version of the race. If you went to the library to find a book on how to put on a virtual marathon, you would have been out of luck. It was time to write the book, so the BAA organizing committee and race directors of thousands of other events were tasked with figuring it out. But would athletes accept running in their neighborhood, instead of on the iconic racecourse? How would they submit results? How many medals, race shirts or other race swag do you order not knowing if 1,000 or 100,000 will enter?

We don’t know what would have happened in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic as the regular race was substituted by a military relay to honor the servicemen fighting the “Great War.”

In 2020, the virtual race was saved by technology. In addition to a massive social networking effort, the participants were given an app to record their distance and finishing time. Thousands around the world were able to escape from their quarantine bubble for a bit to run the prescribed distance.

As we worked our way through the final winter months, the development of the COVID vaccine gave hope to the return of normalcy in our lives and a return to the start line in Hopkinton.

Plans for a glorious return to the 125th running of the infamous race were well under way. When Gov. Charlie Baker announced that road races could return, we all breathed a sigh of elief. That optimism lasted for just a few months, before the COVID variant was starting to make news.

In 2020, the challenge was to put on an event that had never been done before. Inventing a virtual marathon was no small task. But now in 2021, the BAA organizing committee faced the impossible task of trying to predict the future. Would the variant wave subside to allow the show to go on as planned? Would the new wave of the pandemic force another cancellation? Or would there be limitations on the number of participants, plus a ban on international participants? The answer was a definitive “We don’t know.”

The race is around the corner, and indeed it will be different. Here is the plan:

The race was, of course, moved from its traditional Patriots Day April start to Oct. 11. Nearly all the major world marathons have moved to October or November dates making it a crowded calendar for top athletes.

The in-person field has been reduced from over 30,000 to 20,000, effectively eliminating many time-qualified runners due to a tougher time standard imposed to accommodate the reduced field.

A virtual option has been added attracting more than 25,000 runners worldwide.

Runners coming to Hopkinton will be required to have a COVID vaccine shot or they will be required to take a COVID test.

Masks will be required up until the time of the race.

All runners will meet in Boston, and they will be bused to the start line in Hopkinton.

Runners will be assigned to buses based upon qualifying times.

Other than the mobility-impaired and the Elite starts, there will be no gun start. As buses arrive, runners will leave the bus and head to the start line to begin their run, thus spreading out the field.

Accurate times are recorded by the chip transmitters in their race bib.

The timing of transporting runners, the logistics along the course and the management of every aspect of the race to make it safe for all athletes and volunteers has demanded unprecedented planning.

The good news is that Race Director Dave McGillivray and the entire BAA organizing committee are exceptional at making the impossible possible. The 2021 Boston Marathon, I predict, will be masterfully done with 20,000 smiling faces crossing the finish line.

Just wait until next year. But hold onto your hats, because next year is just six months away. We’ll be back running it on Patriots Day, April 11, 2022, despite barely a moment to catch our breath.

Yes, the Boston Marathon still leaves me breathless.